B-Movie Film Vault Reviews "The Monster Squad."

Andrew · December 10, 2006, 02:40:13 AM

"Wolfman's got 'nads!" Boy, I still remember parts of this movie and it has been a while since I last watched it. People email me about it every now and then too, often enough that I keep wondering why we have not seen a DVD release.

Jordan's review is here:
http://www.bmoviefilmvault.com/breviews/monster_squad.html

zombiedudeman · December 10, 2006, 02:55:34 AM

I've alwyas wanted to see Monster Squad cause Night of the Creeps ruled. It's funny that the director's worst movie (Robocop 3) is the only movie of his that has an official DVD out at the moment.

Jordan · December 10, 2006, 04:14:51 AM

Thanks for the plug Andrew, it's always very much appreciated.

Yeah it is odd that Fred Dekker's two best films are lost somewhere in DVD limbo whereas "Robocop 3" is easily available. As bad as Dekker's third (and thus final) film is, I have a soft spot for it. In fact, when I was younger, it was the main Robocop film of choice. It's amazing how foolish we are as children isn't it?

Doc Daneeka · December 10, 2006, 11:39:27 AM

But Night of the Creeps and House are easy to find!

Jordan · December 10, 2006, 02:08:08 PM

Yeah bootlegged DVD-R's of "Night of the Creeps" are very easy to track down online. (BUT BE CAREFUL!) The one I bought, though scratch free, did not work correctly in any of my players. And I couldn't get the defective disc taken care of because the seller was no longer selling the bootleg title and had none left. In fact, he's gone completely legit and is selling some really cool stuff at highly exorbitant prices including the Puppet Master Boxed Set, signed by Charles Band, the Subspecies collection, the Trancers collection, the Dollman & Demonic Toys Collection, and various Troma titles. In any case, it was sad to find out that the DVD did not work correctly (the entire third act of the movie freezes and skips with reckless abandon), especially since the disc included the alternate ending that takes place in a graveyard!

"House" was based on a story written by Fred Dekker and is easily available and worth getting. I love that flick! It had the right amount of humor and had some really cool old school monsters. Big Gen is the Man! (You ever notice that both "House" and "House II" both have appearances by actors from TV's "CHEERS?")

Jim H · December 26, 2006, 03:06:34 AM

Monster Squads original negative was apparently lost. Still, they could release a DVD mastered from the widescreen Japanese LaserDisc is they really wanted to. I know it'd sell pretty well, especially ultra-80s stuff being so in right now.

rebel_1812 · December 30, 2006, 05:52:34 PM

I saw monster squad when I was a kid and thought it was a pretty good movie. Is Night of the Creeps similar to it?

Andrew · December 30, 2006, 07:28:38 PM

"Night of the Creeps" was designed for the teenage horror crowd, so it is a bit different. I would suggest everyone give it a try.

Deathfeast · January 03, 2007, 09:07:04 PM

i remember begging my parents too rent monster squad everytime we rented movies.
it would be nice to have in my collection now.
i actually have night of the creeps and agree with andrew that everyone give it a try.

Gerry · January 08, 2007, 01:45:19 PM

It was going to be released on DVD a few years ago, but then got pulled over some rights issue. I'm guessing it has to do with Universal's chokehold on several of the character likenesses.

SaintMort · January 10, 2007, 11:36:08 PM

So this movie definately has the coolest looking creature from the black...I mean, Gillman and my favorite werewolf transformation of all time (the phonebooth scene)

God I adore this movie.

trekgeezer · January 14, 2007, 06:41:38 PM

My son and I really loved this movie. We always laugh about Leonardo Cimino's character is never given a name and is even listed in the credits as Scary German Guy.

Yes, this is definitely one I'd like to see on DVD.

Jim H · January 21, 2007, 07:12:42 PM

Quote from: Gerry on January 08, 2007, 01:45:19 PM
It was going to be released on DVD a few years ago, but then got pulled over some rights issue. I'm guessing it has to do with Universal's chokehold on several of the character likenesses.

It's possible Universal pressed them on it, but their designs are actually quite different in most cases. I also believe the Bela Lugosi look is now in the public domain, since the original film is more than 75 years old now.